New Franklin Register

Please join us for the Franklin Christmas Stroll on Saturday, December 10th, from 1 to 5 p.m. It will include seven houses within the Village and two others within the town limits. Tickets will be sold at the Franklin Fire House (at the Holiday Market) from 12:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. on December 10th. Stroll tickets will be $10 per person or $15 per couple.

The stated mission: “To guide future growth and development within the Town of Franklin in a manner that respects the town’s rural character, so that its unique sense of place is enhanced, its agriculture, historic, and natural resources protected; and its social and economic vitality ensured for years to come.”

A lofty mission statement at the time, which should still be applicable today.

The Comprehensive Plan covered many topics: land use, natural resource protection, agriculture and farmland protection, historic preservation, community aesthetics, traffic, recreation, community service, watershed protection, and economic development. Assessment of the situation in 2006 was documented for each topic, and recommendations were developed for the future of each area. Continue reading…

Franklin has seen a number of chambers of commerce come and go over the years. The most recent began with an informal meeting at Bennett’s Funeral Home in December of 1979. Frank Millen, of Millen’s Flowers and Gifts, organized the meeting. Then he began work on incorporation with Marc Hildebrand, whose law office in the village is now the Gone Local Marketplace.

In February of the following year, Marc Burgin (Burgin’s Auto), Bill Kelsey (Robinson-Kelsey Department Store) and Jim Hyzer (Jim’s Restaurant, now The Tulip and The Rose) signed the incorporation papers. Millen was the first president, and Burgin the first vice president. The mission statement was and still is: To advance the economic, industrial, professional, cultural, and civic welfare of the greater Franklin area. Continue reading…

Think of the phrase “chamber of commerce” and you’re likely to come up with images of someone with a perpetual smile and pleasant voice, equally ready to welcome visitors with a local brochure or glad-hand a local elected official. While some of that is certainly true, the primary role of a chamber of commerce – whether it’s one that focuses on a single community or an entire county – is to create collaborative partnerships that will support the community in measurable and sustainable ways.

A chamber of commerce is a voluntary partnership of business and professional people working together to build a healthy economy and to improve the quality of life in a community. As a chamber works to accomplish these goals, it must be able to take on many different functions: economic developer and planner, tourist information center, business spokesperson, economic counselor and teacher, government relations specialist, human resources advisor, and public relations practitioner. Continue reading…

In 2004, Bryan and I were looking for a new place to call home. Coming from demanding corporate health care and venture capital, requiring constant communication and travel, we’d shifted gears. Bryan was working on his Ph.D. in Theology, and I wanted to go back to my farm roots. We needed to be close to NYC for Bryan’s studies, but not too close. We wanted community and beauty. A farmhouse on Handsome Brook Road with five acres, a beautiful red barn, a tire swing and East Handsome Brook behind was perfect. It became our home.

The house was what drew us, and its idyllic setting. There would be a lot to learn about the community, but we looked forward to exploring and getting to know people. Continue reading…

A Bibliophile’s Report

Books have always been my companions, mis amigos, my teachers.

So it is not surprising, living as I do part-time in Walton, that I have become a disciple of the Hobart Book Village, a cooperative that began life eleven years ago and is now a destination for local and not-so-local bibliophiles.

The Book Village is also a font of literary and writerly activity, like the Festival of Women Writers, which for three years has made Hobart a go-to place the weekend after Labor Day (save Sept. 9-11, 2016 on your calendar).

This spring, a new bookstore will join the cooperative, bringing the total to six. And two new restaurants, including a British-style pub, are slated to make their debuts on Main Street. Continue reading…

Successful Pilot Plans to Expand

Robo-Boys Isaiah Smith and Robert Menyhardt

Using very similar technology to that used by scientists in NASA’s Mars Rover program, some of Franklin’s youth have recently found out just how cool robotics technology can be through a six-week robotics program pilot. Describing the recently concluded after-school program, leader and mechatronics professional, Steve Cox exudes enthusiasm, emphasizing the impact robotics and other science and technology programs can have on our students.

With funding from the Franklin Community Education Foundation (FCEF), and in collaboration with Franklin Central School, the Franklin Robotics Club formed in October 2015. Six Lego EV3 Robotics Kits, each costing $400, were distributed to six two-person teams made up of students in grades 5-10. Weekly challenges were dispensed, encouraging club members to work together and problem-solve autonomously. Continue reading…

“The camel’s nose is a metaphor for a situation where the permitting of a small, seemingly innocuous act will open the door for larger, clearly undesirable actions.” (Wikipedia) In the fable, a camel seeks shelter from a raging storm in the tent of its owner. Initially he permits the camel to stick only its nose inside, but bit by bit it comes to occupy the whole tent, with the owner pushed out into the weather.

Back in 2012, a partnership led by Williams Partners L.P. of Tulsa planned to profit from ramming the Constitution pipeline down the length of Franklin. Only two years later, a Houston company, Kinder Morgan, wanted to cash-in similarly with the Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline, only fifty feet from the first. This one would come with a compressor station. Revisions of the second company’s plan added a chemical facility to a much expanded complex. Even more was proposed with the addition of a huge power generating plant, possibly next to the Marcy South high-voltage line. Continue reading…